One of the most prestigious awards of the Edinburgh Festival season is back - The Herald Angels will once again be in operation in 2017.

The Herald Angel Awards, supported by the Festival Theatre, will weekly honour performers, writers, artists, actors, comics, producers, and many more during this year's festival period in August.

Past winners of the awards, which took a break last year, include Patti Smith, JK Rowling, Sheena Wellington, Emily Watson, John Bellany, Gillies Mackinnon, John Tiffany, Daniel Kitson, Robert Lepage, the film Billy Elliot, Shirley Henderson, and many more.

In today's Herald Arts section, Arts Editor Keith Bruce writes: "Like Glastonbury – but not very much, really ¬The Herald Angels took a break last year because we were unable to find the right partners to work with to make our regular Saturday morning awards event happen.

"In fact it turns out that we did not need to look that far and I am very pleased that the Angels will be back this August, jointly presented with the Festival Theatre in Edinburgh, which has been the venue for them since their inception."

The Herald launched its first Edinburgh Festivals awards back in 1995 and the Herald Angels were presented each August in Edinburgh until last year.

Each week guest presenters hand out the trophies with the Angels, joined most weeks by a Archangel award to someone who has made a sustained and valued contribution over a number of years, and often a Little Devil, presented to those who have overcome any manner of gremlins or more serious setbacks to produce the goods.

Brian Loudon, director of operations for the Festival and King's Theatres, said: "The Festival Theatre is delighted to support the return of The Herald Angel Awards.

"The awards play a vital role in acknowledging the breadth and scale of the amazing creative talent that assembles in Edinburgh every summer and it’s an honour to host the Herald Angels here."